Good Guy or Bad Guy (Part 4)

"Someone collapsed in the alley behind our store?" Zhang San questioned in doubt.

Wang Xiaoer nodded again and again because of the rainwater from falling over, saying: "It's true Master, I didn't lie to you."

Then, with a bad premonition, Zhang San went to the alley with his apprentice.

In the night rain, Zhang San, holding an umbrella, carefully examined the two people lying unconscious on the ground.

Zhang San scolded Wang Xiaoer: “Forget enmities? Don't you recognize this person? What are you afraid of?"

Wang Xiaoer aggrievedly said: "Master, I'm only nine years old! Can you consider that I'm a child? Besides, it was so dark at that time that I couldn't see his face clearly either. Being scared is also very normal, right?"

Zhang San shook his head helplessly, then said: "Okay, since they are not thieves, let's go."

Wang Xiaoer exclaimed: "Then Master, he..."

Zhang San said plainly: "His abdomen and thighs were pierced by sharp weapons, which were already serious injuries. Of course, with his skills, he won't die from these two injuries. But what is really fatal is the ‘Blood Poison Powder' on him. The poison has entered his limb meridians."

Wang Xiaoer looked at the girl lying on Xiu Wangchou and understood that Xiu Wangchou must have desperately rescued this girl from the Wang Family's ambush at the risk of being poisoned.

Wang Xiaoer pleaded: "Master, the poison has entered his limb meridians. Does that mean he can't be saved?"

Zhang San, the medical expert, said matter-of-factly: "He can be saved, why wouldn't he be saved?"

Wang Xiaoer was delighted: “Then Master, please save him quickly!"

But Zhang San was puzzled, as if it was a matter of course: "Why should I save him?"

"But Master, it was to save others that he..."

Zhang San said coldly: "Stop, stop. Didn't you say it yourself? He saved others, not me. So he has no kindness to me. Why should I save him?"

"But Master..."

Zhang San interrupted: "I know what you want to say. But Xiao Er, have you forgotten what I said? The most important thing for us assassins is to hide ourselves well. If I cure him, how will I explain later where a poor calligrapher and painter like me learned the skills to treat such a fierce poison like Blood Poison Powder?"

First, I have no obligation to save him.

Second, saving him is a risky thing.

The risks here include people discovering that I am not just a poor calligrapher, and getting involved in everything related to Xiu Wangchou.

The county government of Xiaoyun, the Wang merchant family, the Poison Valley and other underground organizations...

Although Zhang San is not afraid, and he admires Xiu Wangchou to some extent, and although Zhang San still can't forget the grass knot on Xiu Wangchou's sword hilt, these are not enough reason for Zhang San to take risks.

Zhang San looked down at the unhappy Wang Xiaoer...

Zhang San whispered to himself: I'm already taking risks. Please don't bring me another one. I just hope I can be like my master - die from choking on a chicken leg when I get old.

So Zhang San left. On such a late rainy night, there is nothing more enjoyable than going to bed.

However, Wang Xiaoer couldn't bear to leave Xiu Wangchou and the girl lying in the rain. After Zhang San left, Wang Xiaoer struggled to move them under the eaves in the alley.

But it was futile.

Wang Xiaoer looked at the muddy Xiu Wangchou and clenched his fists tightly...

...

Wang Xiaoer returned to the calligraphy and painting store, and Zhang San was already lying in bed. Zhang San called out to let Wang Xiaoer go to sleep early, but Wang Xiaoer completely ignored him.

Feeling strange, Zhang San got up and walked from the backyard to the hall, only to see Wang Xiaoer reading medical books!

Zhang San laughed and said, "You...really? Although you've been learning from me for half a year and read some medical books, you don't think you can solve the Blood Poison Powder poison by yourself, do you?"

However, the nine-year-old boy ignored Zhang San completely, as if he hadn't heard him at all, and kept frowning at the book.

Zhang San mocked a few more times, but Wang Xiaoer still didn't say a word. Zhang San was too lazy to care and went to sleep by himself.

Late at night.

Zhang San didn't sleep very well.

Because the rain was getting heavier and heavier, and because the back door kept being opened by someone, followed by the sound of footsteps coming and going ceaselessly.

Zhang San sighed.

I'm not a good person after all.

Why force me to do good deeds?

This world is so strange.

...

In the alley, this was the fifth time Wang Xiaoer came to Xiu Wangchou's side. This time he brought seven silver needles.

As Zhang San had marveled half a year ago.

Wang Xiaoer was a genius more gifted than Zhang San. Although he had only studied under Zhang San for half a year, his medical skills were at least at a certain level of understanding.

He first bandaged Xiu Wangchou’s two wounds with gauze and medicine, then immediately began to study the Blood Poison Powder on Xiu Wangchou’s body.

After diagnosing four times in the early half of the night, Wang Xiaoer already understood that this Blood Poison Powder poison would continuously invade the human body’s meridians with time. This poison is extremely fierce. It would be absolutely too late to use medicine to treat it now given Xiu Wangchou’s condition.

Therefore, the fifth time, Wang Xiaoer brought silver needles from the store, intending to puncture Xiu Wangchou’s acupoints with silver needles!

Force the poison to one place, release it at last, save his life first, then treat the poison injuries – this would likely succeed.

No sooner said than done!

Wang Xiaoer’s first needle punctured Xiu Wangchou’s Baihui acupoint on top of his head. The second needle punctured his left arm’s acupoint. The third needle entered the left half of his body...

Wang Xiaoer clearly also understood his own limited skills. So he planned to clear the poison from the left half of the body first. When the meridians under the silver needles and the surrounding skin gradually turned black, Wang Xiaoer showed a smile!

"You're wrong..."

Zhang San’s sudden cold words shocked Wang Xiaoer.

Holding an umbrella and looking at the candle wrapped in oilcloth, Zhang San realized Wang Xiaoer must have had no strength to move them into the house, so he studied out here all night.

You can't even move them, how do you plan to save them? With what? With your half year of learning from me at the age of nine, and the superficial medical skills?

Zhang San really wanted to mock Wang Xiaoer like this.

But Wang Xiaoer looked at Zhang San with a very serious gaze, extremely serious.

Zhang San sighed inwardly and continued coldly: "You're very smart, your medical skills are much higher than I imagined, but you overlooked two issues."

"First, you only treat his left side of the body, which shows you don't have much confidence in your approach. Let's assume you succeed, given your needle insertion speed it would already be dawn by then. As for someone like him, becoming disabled would be worse than death."

"Second, your method of sealing the poison with silver needles is very immature. The needlework is not accurate or deep enough. And most importantly, you don't have inner strength. Even if the needles are accurate enough, without inner strength to guide, at most one third of the poison from his left side can be aggregated. And since you have neither inner power nor medicine, the poison is aggregated – so I ask how do you plan to expel the poison?"

Every word Zhang San said struck Wang Xiaoer's heart.

But how could Wang Xiaoer himself not understand?

Although he was nine years old, he was not naive enough to think that after half a year of reading, he had become a divine doctor.